1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a quick release apparatus for use in securing a bicycle wheel to a front fork or rear fork, or a bicycle seat to a seat tube. More particularly, the invention relates to a quick release apparatus for a bicycle including a rotary cam for contacting a cam follower formed on a drawbar to pull the drawbar, a cam lever for rotating the rotary cam, and a housing for rotatably supporting the rotary cam.
2. Description of the Related Art
This type of quick release apparatus is described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-17281, for example. In known apparatus including the one disclosed in this publication, generally, the rotary cam for pulling the drawbar and the cam lever for rotating the rotary cam am formed of the same material to be integral with each other.
In actual use, the rotary cam contacts the cam follower formed on the drawbar to pull the drawbar. Taking strength and wear resistance into account, the rotary cam and cam lever are usually formed of metal, inter alia steel. In the known quick release apparatus, therefore, the rotary cam and cam lever are usually both formed of a ferrous material to be integral with each other.
It is often desired to manufacture a quick release apparatus with the rotary cam formed of a ferrous material but the cam lever having a different length or shape to suit a different type or grade of bicycle. In such a case, with the cam lever and rotary cam formed integral with each other, substantially all of the components except the housing must be manufactured all over again. This tends to increase manufacturing cost.
An example of rotary cam and cam lever formed separate from each other is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,692. In this prior construction, the rotary cam has a bore extending through a rotational axis thereof, and the cam lever has a projection formed remote from a handle portion of the lever. This projection is passed through the bore of the rotary cam to the other end to be retained in place by a portion of the housing. Thus, both the rotary cam and cam lever have complicated shapes, which also tend to increase cost.